Board and Top Management Changes over the Decades: Responses to Governance and CSR Issues

This paper is a broad review of how boards of directors and top management teams have made changes over the decades in response to corporate social responsibility pressures and expectations. These changes have taken place in several areas: 1) in the organization, composition and structure of these groups, 2) in changing reporting relationships between the management, the board, and other stakeholders, and 3) in various initiatives that facilitate the interaction of internal and external stakeholders. I conclude that while over the decades boards have developed infrastructures to actively embrace their responsibilities to their stakeholders, they are still challenged with managing their relationships with the CEO and the top management team over cycles of social, economic and political turbulence.